Oh, baby! Your domestic flights are free as long as you sit on a parent’s lap. But travel internationally, and Daddy must pay. Factor in the recent fuel surcharges, and taking junior on vacation can be prohibitively expensive.
October 2008
You wouldn’t go anywhere without your camera. Here are two new backpacks that will protect your SLR: Lowepro’s Flipside and Camera Armor’s Seattle Sling.
The customer isn’t always right. That’s the message from a Ramada hotel employee who read my recent recommendations about how to complain more effectively. So what’s going on behind the scenes when a complaint comes in? And is it true that Ramada has a quota for customer grievances?
Read this week’s issue online or subscribe to the RSS feed. In this issue … • Unfair fares: Avoid the bait-and-switch • Secrets for sleeping on a plane • Oh, sh#t! The barbarians are at the gate and they’re demanding a refund • How to reach yours truly • Support this site This issue of [...]
Maybe it was the word “extreme” that made the Transportation Security Administration Security agent at Los Angeles International Airport nervous. Crest with Scope Extreme. I had bought a little tube of it at the grocery store before boarding my red-eye flight to Orlando yesterday evening. Contraband, according to the TSA.
When it comes to upscale hotels, the word “understated” is so overused that it’s almost lost its meaning. Not at the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara, where I happen to be speaking at a conference today.
Airline passengers are usually a forgiving lot. When a flight doesn’t take off as planned, they understand. When they have to pay extra for a checked bag because of “higher” fuel prices, they oblige. But there’s one thing that makes them mad as hell.
Colleen Bosler prepays for a hotel at a ski resort during Christmas. But she misses her plane, forcing her to reschedule. The resort offers her credit, but she has to cancel her make-up vacation, too. The hotel is giving her until May to use the credit, or it will expire. Is that fair?
No one likes to see an airline in bankruptcy, except maybe bankruptcy lawyers. But the least you’d expect is for a carrier in Chapter 11 to honor a fare. Maybe that’s asking too much from Sun Country Airlines.
Nanci Moll was looking forward to spending her five-year anniversary in the Cayman Islands. But her travel agent had other plans. He apparently was looking forward to spending the $1,488 Moll had paid him.
How’s this for a nightmare scenario? You visit an automatic teller machine while you’re in Europe. You ask for 270 euros. But it gives you nothing. When you return to the States, your bank insists on charging you for the transaction.
Read this week’s issue online or subscribe to the RSS feed. In this issue … • Flying traitors: Why air travel is un-American • The truth about checkpoint-friendly luggage • Study suggests corporate travel managers are in total denial about economic downturn • How to reach yours truly • Support this site This issue of [...]
How do you get a little shut-eye while you’re on a flight? Here are three tips that will practically guarantee you’ll catch a few zs.
Airlines apparently aren’t the only ones incapable of quoting a total fare. Cruise lines can’t give us a straight price, either. You’ve probably heard about their fuel surcharges and their new steak fees. But have you tried to book a floating vacation recently?
It’s not too soon to start thinking about traveling next year. In 2009, a series of new rules and regulations kick in that could affect your vacation. Ignore them, and you might find yourself delayed or denied access to your destination.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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